Heating system



J. H. BROWN.

HEATING SYSTEM. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 10, 1922.

Patented July 4, 1922.

I 3mm QQW J (LLJL 9% Owe/QM T FWQCO JOHN H. BROWN, or 'sravmew cnnnx', OKLAHOMA.

HEATING SYSTEM.

Leeneoe.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patentedelluly 4L, 11922.

Application filed January 10, 1922. Serial No. 528,334.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. BROWN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Spavinaw. Creek, in the county of Mayes and Stateof Oklahoma, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Heating Systems; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification. V

This invention relates to a heating system utilizing steam and has for its principal object the provision of a steam generator of simple type which will be convenient to operate and which will require less fuel and care than the ordinary steam heating system.

Other objects of the present invention lie in the provision of the various elements and in the combinations covered in the claims hereinafter.

Inthesteam generators for household use "with which I am familiar there is always more or less difiiculty in keeping the water level at a given height, and I know of no generator in which the water level in a fire tube section can be automatically controlled,

such control means governing at the same time the passage of water through the initial heating element, which in the present embodiment consists in a single pipe, preferably of copper tubing. 1 By providing a tank of suflicient size an connecting it to the system by means of a pipe equipped with a non-return or check valve and by the provision of'a spring relief valve in the upper portion of the feed water control, I am able to guard against all accidents and to prevent the flow of water back into the reservoir tank, with a consequent emptying and later destruction of the portions of the furnace which are exposed to the direct heat of the fire.

In the embodiment shown I use a gas burner but slightly smaller in diameter than the inner'shell and allow the fiame to play directly on the lower turns of the concentric coils of the helical copper pipe heating the Water but not converting it into steam, and then I pass this heated water to the fire-tube section of the furnace where it is converted into steam and then passes to the various radiators throughout the dwelling, where, after delivering its heat, the steam condenses and returns tothe generator either through the same pipe or through a regular condensate return pipe. The steam generator illustrated in the drawings has been used an entire season with an excellent showing of reduced consumption of fuel over the best known types on the market.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of m deyice equlpped to burn wood or coal and havmg the usual ash pit and grate.

Fig. 2 is a similar view but partly in vertical section showing my steam generator in its preferred form, that is, burning gas.

As shown in Figure 1, my device consists of an outer shell 10 made for convenience in a plurality of sections, the upper section 11 being the flue cone, the next section 12 being the fire tube section, the central section 13 being the water tube section, while 14 and 15 represent respectively, the fire box section and the ash pit.

For convenience and accessibility a hand hole 16 is provided in the section 12 to permit cleaning and repairing of the float valve described later. The remaining portions of Figure 1 are of normal construction, and since they form no part of the present invention need not be described.

In Figure 2 the outer shell 10 of the steam generator is spaced from the inner shell 18 by means of the usual stay bolts 19 so as to provide between them an annular water jacket 20 which is closed at the top by the head 21 and at the bottom by the usual ring 22, located some distance below the burner 23;

The crown sheet 25 separates the water tube section from the fire tube section and forms the floor of the latter, being perforated in the usual manner to receive the lower ends of the fire tubes 27, which are notv arranged evenly throughout the entire extent of the crown sheet in the normal manner, but are spaced so. as to provide a free central space for the reception of the float 28' and the thereby controlled valve 29. These fire tubes 27 are connected in the usual manner to.the head 21 which in addition to the openings for the tubes is provided with a central orifice 30 closed by a spring relief valve 31, which is preferably set at abouttwenty pounds.

The water tube 33 is formed of a single coil, which however, I prefer to make in a number of sections, all coupled together so that the replacing of a ortion of the coil may be quickly and easily performed.

The inlet to the coil is shown at 34 and the normal outlet at 35 leads to the float valve and the pipe 39 leads from certain of the ra diators to the inlet pipe 34. A supply tank 40 is located at any convenient point and is connected to the inlet pipe by the vertical pipe 41 as shown a one-way valve 42 being placed in the pipe 34 in order to prevent "flow of water from the coil to the tank, as

for example, when thesteam pipe 38 should be accidentally obstructed in any manner.

The burner 23 receives natural or other gas through the fuel line 44 which is provided with a valve 45 thermostatically controlled in the usual way, said thermostat forming no part of the present invention and therefore not described nor even indicated on the drawings. The heat from the burner plays directly on the bottom of the coil 33 and causes the water to ascend into the fire tube-section as steam is generated therein. The generation of steam in the fire box section lowers the water level sufficiently to affect the float 28, and hence the valve 29 opens and allows the heated water from the coil to pass from time to time into the fire box section. In starting the'apparatus cold, the steam forms directly in the water coil and passes through the pop valve'36 into the relatively cold water-of the fire tube a section where it condenses until such time as the water in the uppersection issufficiently heated to be vaporized by the heat from the fire tubes. The water jacket and.

relief valve to be called into operation, since when the steam pressure mounts to even a sl ght degree above that desired, the flow of gas to the burner is automatically reduced by the thermostatic control, so that only in case of serious accident is the relief valve called into play.

What I claim is:

1. In a steam generator, a fire tube section, a water tube sect-ion connected thereto, a check valve at the entrance to said water tube section, a float valve for controlling the passage of water from the water tube sectidn to the fire tube section, and a safety valve between said water tube section and said fire tube section.

2. In a heating system, a water supply tank, a fire box casing, an outer casing forming with said fire box casing an annular hot water space, a coil of pipe-within said fire box casing connecting said tank and said hot Water space, a check valve at the entrance end of said coil, and a float valve at the exit end of said coil.

3. In a heating system, a water supply tank, afire box casing, an outer casing forming with said fire boxcasing an annular hot water space, a cbil of pipe within said fire box casing connecting said tank and said hot water space, a check valve atthe entrance end of said coil, a float valve fat the exit end of said coil, a relief valve in the steam ortion of said hot water space, and means for permitting passage of water from said c011 to said space when the float valve is closed and the pressure in said coil is greater than thepressure in Said space.

JOHN H. BROWN. 

